Have you found what makes you tick? If not, let's start now.
Are you fulfilling your life desires? Your purpose? Or are you just burying yourself in the here and now as you need to make the money to bring up your kids, just to get the work done that needs to be done today or because thinking about what the future holds is just too hard.
I have had three conversations today who people who weren’t happy with life at the mo - stuck in a hole and doing things for other people or because they should do it. They weren’t happy with life overall but their vocation, their purpose. All three forgetting that they only live once.
It can be really scary peaking out of the present and looking into the future - especially if you are putting yourself under pressure to come up with ‘that’ dream job. But it doesn’t have to be that scary or hard. Take a step back from the daily grind get a pen and paper out or even a phone, perhaps sit in a coffee shop, and think about what are your values, what are your principles, what are your interests, what do you desire?
We often forget who we really are but it is really helpful to use the answers to the above to get to know yourself better. You can then use these to measure any future opportunity or decision point. This will help guide you on your journey to fulfilling your desire and your purpose - and making sure it’s something you really want. And remember that yes life is a journey and it’s not just about the destination so don’t beat yourself up for not knowing the answer....yet.
These answers have provided me with a framework to answer a variety of questions....should I apply take this job, move this city or go part time to much more simple decisions like should I go out this evening (or get up early tomorrow to do what you love?).
For a long time I didn’t know what I wanted (which admittedly made me pretty miserable at times) but I spent time trying to answer those questions. I did this numerous times (mostly on long haul flights) over a number of years in a series of notebooks. Now when I look back on them I laugh - the underlying values / interests etc have basically been the same. Yes there are slight tweaks but the underlying me is still the same.
Over time I have used this to figure out what I want to do. Sometimes it has been so frustrating and confronting not knowing how I will achieve what I want but looking back just knowing what makes me tick has enabled me to go through life making the right decisions (although perhaps subconsciously) to make my way there.
Now a few years on I have a lot more clarity as to how I will achieve my purpose and put things in into action. And in short my once far flung dreams are now closer than before.
So why not take a step back today - buy a notebook and answer the questions above. Who are you? What do you want to offer to this world. And go from there....the rest will come.
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